According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, demand for loans to buy homes is now 27 percent higher than at the same time last year. The improvement – which comes following a 1 percent week-over-week increase – marks three consecutive months of gains over last year’s numbers. Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, says the housing market’s quick rebound has been a bright spot in the economy. “The housing market remains a bright spot in the current economic recovery and these results, combined with July data on housing starts and home builder optimism, suggest that housing supply could be increasing to better meet the strong demand for buying a home,” Kan said. Also in the report, average mortgage rates were up from the previous week, with increases for 30-year fixed-rate loans with conforming and jumbo balances and 15-year fixed-rate loans. Rates for loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration were down from one week earlier. The MBA’s weekly survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers 75 percent of all retail residential mortgage applications. (source)